100 Leaders Who Have Left Their Mark

Jesse Todd

January 30, 1996|By JESSE TODD Daily Press

Newsmakers. Movers and shakers. Leaders. Every community depends on them - the people who get things done, who take chances, start businesses, create jobs or make the tough decisions that make a community a better place to live. What follows is a list of 100 individuals or families who have played such a role in the areas served by the Daily Press.

Lists tend to be subjective, and this one is. Its bias is in favor of historical figures, the people who got the work started, and, of course, business leaders. Politicians are included if their tenure and work had an impact on the community's business life.

FOR THE RECORD - Published correction ran Thursday, February 1, 1996.One name was omitted from the list of 100 leaders who left their mark on the Peninsula area in Tuesday's Progress section. Number 29 is Thomas Downing, who served as 1st District congressman for 18 years, choosing not to seek re-election in 1976 even though he could easily have won. He protected his district's military and maritime interests.According to the Hampton City Council Clerk and old clip files of the Daily Press, Ann Kilgore was not mayor from 1978 to 1980. Kilgore served on Hampton City Council for that time period but was not mayor.

We acknowledge that no list can be complete. Men and women who ought to be included aren't, and for that we apologize. But those listed here have done much to define our community:

1. The Abbitt family : Meredith W. "Monk" Abbitt founded Abbitt Realty Co. in 1946. His son, Richard, is president today. Monk Abbitt also was active in banking and civic organizations, including service as president of the Peninsula Nature and Science Center, which today is the Virginia Living Museum. He died in 1973.

2. The Amory family : The Amorys have been active in the business life of the Peninsula for generations. Their interests have included seafood, medicine and a funeral home.

3. Hunter B. Andrews was a giant of the Virginia General Assembly, serving as Senate majority leader and chairman of the Finance Committee. His knowledge and influence have had tremendous benefit for the Peninsula. Andrews also played a key role in integrating Hampton public schools in a way that allowed the city to avoid the trauma other communities suffered.

4. William T. Ashe of Gloucester Point was hailed as ``Father of the Tidewater Trail,'' as Route 17 was known, for his efforts to encourage development of the north-south highway and to promote the Tidewater area's tourist attractions. He owned and operated the Gloucester Point-Yorktown ferry system from 1917 until his death in 1938.

5. Richard Bagley was so influential in the House of Delegates that when he announced in 1985 that he would not seek re-election to his 92nd District seat from Hampton, the Daily Press wrote an editorial asking him to reconsider. Bagley's 20 years of legislative service included eight as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and he helped steer state tax dollars to projects beneficial to the Peninsula.

6. Herbert Bateman is the 1st District representative to Congress and has served as a guardian of the interests of Newport News Shipbuilding and the thousands of men and women who depend on the yard for their livelihoods.

7. Carl M. Bergh was a C&O railway agent in Toano who between 1896 and 1906 brought from Wisconsin 200 Scandinavian farm families to James City County, where they established the community of Norge.

8. Joseph C. Biggins was city manager of Newport News from 1925 to 1965. In that capacity he presided over tremendous growth, including the merger in 1958 with Warwick and expansion of the city's waterworks. He died in 1978.

9. S. Otis Bland left his Newport News law practice in 1918 to serve in Congress, where he rose to the chairmanship of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee. He died in office in 1950, ending a career in which, according to his obituary, he had worked tirelessly to expand and improve the shipbuilding industry.

10. Franklin O. Blechman, who died in 1986, was called the "grandfather" of public service on the Peninsula. He was a leader in industrial development, and an account of his community service would fill a book. He was the first managing partner of Jones, Blechman, Woltz & Kelly, the Peninsula's oldest law firm.

11. Hunter R. Booker served as president of the Hampton-Phoebus Merchants' Association and, during World War I, was one of the men involved in getting the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to select a site in Elizabeth City County for an aeronautical research center, which today is the NASA Langley Research Center.

12. The Bottom family: Members of the family, beginning with Raymond Blanton Bottom in 1931, were owners and officers of the Daily Press until the sale of the newspaper to the Tribune Co. in 1986.

13. The Bowditch family: Willits H. Bowditch Sr., who died in 1994, founded Bowditch Ford, which is now owned and operated by W.H. Bowditch Jr. Bowditch Sr. and his wife, Marian, were named "1993 Distinguished Citizens" by the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce for "long-term, lifetime commitment to the community." Bowditch was chairman of the first Virginia Trade Mission to Europe in 1967.

14. Raymond M. Brown opened a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Newport News in 1914 and became well known as "Coca-Cola Brown." The plant expanded numerous times before the business was sold in 1978. Brown died in 1979.